Systems and Methods for Integrated Automated Sports Data Collection and Analytics Platform

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and apparatus for data collection and analytics for a sports activity are disclosed. A multiplicity of sensors tracks a multiplicity of world objects related to the sports activity, collects and communicates tracking data to a server platform in real time or near real time. The server platform integrates the tracking data from the multiplicity of sensors and scoring data for the sports activity, and correlates the tracking data and the scoring data with a corresponding UTC timecode based on rules related to the sports activity, thereby creating a multiplicity of UTC-coded data sets. The server platform synchronizes the multiplicity of UTC-coded data sets, thereby creating a time-synchronized data set. The server platform provides analytics based on the time-synchronized data set, thereby creating analyzed data. The multiplicity of user devices displays the analyzed data based on at least one application program.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention is related to and claims priority from thefollowing U.S. patent documents. This application is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/450,191 filed Mar.6, 2017, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/305,219, filed Mar. 8, 2016. This application also claimspriority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/624,534, filedJan. 31, 2018. All of the above-mentioned documents are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for sports datacollection, analytics, and applications thereof over a distributednetwork and a multiplicity of remote users having access to a data andanalytics platform.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Traditionally, statistical information of a sports event, is generallycollected manually by watching the event or event footage and enteredinto a database. The collected data is limited to what may beascertained from viewing the event, and therefore the statistical dataand visualizations based thereon are also limited. Similar tostatistical information, event injury notification is limited to aparticipant raising an issue, which may not occur in highly competitivesporting events or by a person viewing the event indicating that aninjury may have occurred. The medical staff may need to watch severalminutes of event footage to view the injury event and are limited towhat cameras may have captured at that time. Traditional video recordingtechniques have certain limitations, such as insufficient viewingangles, moving camera angles and zooms, non-calibrated images, andabsence of tagged objects.

Recent advances in object tracking tools and various wearable monitoringdevices have spawned the need for novel quantitative and timely dataanalysis tools that are customizable and equipped to provide easy tounderstand results and intelligent information.

By way of example the following are relevant prior art documentsrelating to sports data inputs, collection, analytics and application:

U.S. Pat. No. 8,989,880 for “Performance analytics based on real-timedata for proximity and movement of objects” by inventor Michael A. Wohlet al., filed Jul. 15, 2013, describes Systems, methods, apparatuses,and computer readable media are disclosed for providing performanceanalytics using dynamics/kinetics models based on role data or weatherdata and real time data on movement and proximity of tagged objects. Inone embodiment, a method is provided for monitoring a participant thatat least includes correlating at least one tag to the participant;receiving blink data transmitted by the at least one tag; anddetermining tag location data based on the blink data. The methodfurther includes receiving participant role data; comparing the taglocation data to participant dynamics/kinetics models based at least inpart on the participant role data; and determining participant locationdata based on the comparing the tag location data to the participantdynamics/kinetics models.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,014,830 for “Method, apparatus, and computer programproduct for combined tag and sensor based performance modeling usingreal-time data for proximity and movement of objects” by inventorMichael A. Wohl et al., filed Jul. 15, 2013, describes systems, methods,apparatuses, and computer readable media for providing performancemodeling by combining tags and sensors providing real time data onmovement and proximity of tagged objects. In one embodiment, a method isprovided for monitoring a participant that at least includes correlatingat least one tag to the participant; receiving blink data transmitted bythe at least one tag; determining tag location data based on the blinkdata; correlating a sensor to the participant; and receiving sensorderived data. The method further includes receiving participant roledata; comparing the tag location data to participant dynamics/kineticsmodels based at least in part on the participant role data; anddetermining the participant location data based on comparing the taglocation data and the sensor derived data to the participantdynamics/kinetics models.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,180,357 for “Multiple antenna interference rejection inultra-wideband real time locating systems” by inventor Edward A.Richley, filed Jul. 15, 2013, describes Systems, methods, apparatuses,and computer readable media are disclosed for providing interferencerejection in ultra-wideband real time locating systems. In oneembodiment, an ultra-wideband (UWB) receiver is configured to: receivean interference signal from a source positioned outside a monitoredregion; receive a composite signal transmitted from a tagged objectmoving about a playing field within the monitored region, wherein thecomposite signal comprises a location signal and a component of theinterference signal; detect whether the component of the interferencesignal exceeds a threshold value; and adjust, via a processor, filteringof the composite signal to attenuate the component of the interferencesignal based on whether the component of the interference signal exceedsthe threshold value. Some embodiments provide for filtering of thecomposite signal using a combiner while others employ a tunable notchfilter. Corresponding systems, methods, and computer-readable storagemedium are also provided.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0148129 for “METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTERPROGRAM PRODUCT FOR PERFORMANCE ANALYTICS DETERMINING PARTICIPANTSTATISTICAL DATA AND GAME STATUS DATA” by inventor David Austerlade etal., filed Dec. 1, 2014, describes Systems, methods, apparatuses, andcomputer program products for providing analytics including participantstatistical data or game status data. In one embodiment, a method isprovided for transmitting participant data relating to one or moreparticipants that are available in a fantasy game, the fantasy game isat least partially related to a players performance in a sporting event;receiving a selected participant data indication from at least one user,the selected participant data indication provides selection of at leastone participant from the participant data; generating a participant dataupdate for one or more participants based on the selected participantdata indication; the participant data is defined by a time periodcomprising an event and is calculated based on blink data transmittedfrom a location tag mounted to the participant; and transmitting theparticipant data update, the participant data update is viewable via auser interface.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0149837 for “METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTERPROGRAM PRODUCT FOR COLLECTING AND DISPLAYING SPORTING EVENT DATA BASEDON REAL TIME DATA FOR PROXIMITY AND MOVEMENT OF OBJECTS” by inventorRodrigo Alonso et al., filed Oct. 24, 2014, describes a method,apparatus and computer program product for collecting sporting eventdata based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects. Inthe context of a method, the method includes calculating a tag datafilter parameter for a plurality of tag events based on received tagblink data and tag location data, wherein the tag data filter parametercomprises a blink period, distance span, or velocity, calculating aparticipant location data adjustment factor based on the tag data filterparameter, and calculating multidimensional player location informationper unit time based on the plurality of tag events and the participantlocation adjustment factor.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0356332 for “SYSTEMS, APPARATUS AND METHODSFOR VARIABLE RATE ULTRA-WIDEBAND COMMUNICATIONS” by inventor BelindaTurner et al., filed Jun. 4, 2015, describes systems, methods,apparatuses, and computer readable media for providing variable blinkrate ultra-wideband (UWB) communications. Some embodiments may providefor a radio frequency (RF) tag including a motion sensor, processingcircuitry, and a UWB transmitter. The motion sensor may be configured togenerate one or more motion data values indicating motion of the RF tag.The UWB transmitter may be configured to transmit blink data at variableblink rates. The processing circuitry may be configured to receive theone or more motion data values from the motion sensor, determine a blinkrate for the UWB transmitter based on the one or more motion datavalues, and control the UWB transmitter to wirelessly transmit the blinkdata at the blink rate. In some embodiments, the RF tag may include aUWB receiver and the blink rate may be controlled remotely by a system.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0375083 for “Method, Apparatus, And ComputerProgram Product for Enhancement of Event Visualizations Based onLocation Data” by inventor Jill Stelfox et al., filed Jun. 5, 2015,describes methods, apparatuses, and computer program products directedto generating event visualizations based on location data. In oneexample, a method for providing enhanced event visualizations based onlocation data is provided which includes receiving, by a visualizationsprocessor, play diagram data from a play model database and receivinglocation data during a play period for a plurality of participants. Themethod further includes determining a selected play based on comparingthe location data to the play diagram data and determining an actualroute for one or more participants of the plurality of participantsbased on the location data. The method further includes generating, bythe visualization processor, an accuracy visualization interface bycomparing the actual route for each of the one or more participants tothe selected play.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0097700 for “TEAM PERFORMANCE MONITORING” byinventor Shaun Holthouse, filed Oct. 4, 2013, describes a system formonitoring a plurality of individuals engaged in a sporting activity.The system includes a base station; a plurality of individualparticipant monitors, affixed to each individual and wirelesslycommunicating with said base station; a plurality of sensors in eachsaid monitor or on each individual, in communication with each monitorand configured to sense a physiological or activity parameter of theindividual; each monitor transmitting data relating to parameters sensedby said sensors to the base station; one or more group monitoringdevices communicating wirelessly with said base station to receive saidsensed parameter data. The system displays, during said activity, datarelating to one or more sports parameters of one or more individuals aswell as displaying the operational status of one or more of eachmonitor, each sensor, and the base station.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,466,794 for “Head impact event reporting system” byinventor Christoph Mack et al., filed Jan. 19, 2011, describes Headimpact event evaluation systems and methods. A system and computerimplemented method for event detection includes collecting sensor datatransmitted from one or more sensor devices being attached to one ormore users. The sensors transmit data when an event results in sensordata above a threshold value. At least one force is determined based onthe collected sensor data. At least one force vector is determined basedon a location of one or more sensors associated with the sensor devicesand the determined at least one of the linear or rotational force. Atleast a portion of a human form is displayed with the determined forcevector based on the determined at least on force vector on a display.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,079,247 for “Impact detection system” by inventor BrianKeith Russell et al., filed Jun. 12, 2008, describes an impact detectionsystem providing a means of sensing, monitoring and recording impactevents on an impact surface using at least one sensor that isincorporated into the impact surface. The sensor(s) can be integralwith, attached to or located behind various types of impact surfaceincluding various types of garments that can be worn by an individual oron composite materials such as an aircraft fuselage for example. Theimpact detection system includes a portable impact detection deviceelectrically connected to the sensor(s) and is used to detect ballisticor non-ballistic type impacts on the impact surface. The portable impactdetection device processes the impact data detected by the sensor(s) andstores the data for analysis at a later time or outputs the data to athird party system for review and/or analysis.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,400,302 for “Electric field sensing device” by inventorBrian Keith Russell et al., filed Jun. 10, 2010, describes a sensingsystem that uses at least one conductive plate and associated electroniccircuitry to provide an output that is indicative of an object'sposition in relation to the at least one conductive plate. The sensingsystem is provided with a high impedance drive signal that varies as aresult of the location of an object relative to the at least oneconductive plate. The electronic circuitry receives a high impedancedrive signal value as an input and a processor uses the value tocalculate a digital output indicative of the object's position. The highimpedance drive signal value is monitored over time enabling the objectsposition, displacement, pressure, movement, impact and energy to bedetermined. This data is output to a display and may also be transmittedto a person located remotely from the object being monitored.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,220,444 for “System method and device for determiningthe risk of dehydration” by inventor Brian Russell, filed Jun. 6, 2011,describes a system, device and method of determining the probability ofdehydration of a person. In one embodiment, the method comprisesreceiving data of a heart rate of the person; receiving data of aposture of the person; determining that a first posture of the personsatisfies first posture criteria for a first predetermined time period;determining a first heart rate for the person during the firstpredetermined time period; subsequent to determining that the firstposture of the person satisfies first posture criteria for a firstpredetermined time period, determining that a second posture of theperson satisfies second posture criteria for at least a secondpredetermined period; determining a second heart rate for the personduring the second predetermined time period; determining a change inheart rate as the second heart rate minus the first average heart rate;determining a first probability of dehydration based, at least in part,on the change in heart rate; and outputting the first probability ofdehydration.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,860,570 for “Portable wireless personal head impactreporting system” by inventor Biju Thomas et al., filed Feb. 3, 2012,describes a system for sensing, analyzing and reporting a collisionevent experienced by a person or object sensor module designed to aperson or object, module angular velocities over time and a processorfor analyzing the sensed velocities, calculating properties of angularvelocities, such as jerk and jolt, comparing these properties withthreshold values selected to correlate to predicted severities of injuryto the person or object, transmitting information regarding theseproperties to communication device user-designated persons. Alsoprovided are group tracking and communication devices for use bymonitors to manage multiple persons equipped with sensor modules. Thesensor modules and group tracking and communication devices are designedto be portable, attachable and detachable so that they can be attachedto different types of gear used by persons engaging in differentactivities.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0306486 for “Method to Prevent Harm toAthletes from Overexertion” by inventor Robert J. Logan et al., filedJul. 8, 2015, describes methods to prevent harm to athletes fromoverexertion. The method includes inserting a dental appliance into amouth of each monitored athlete, the dental appliance having sensors formonitoring parameters such as body temperature and hydration level ofthe athlete; obtaining at a monitoring station wireless transmissions ofcurrent measurements from each of the dental appliances; storingmeasurements along with a source of the measurements and a timeassociated with the measurements; and providing a notification when amonitored athlete is in danger from overexertion as indicated by a trendin the stored measurements.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,289,185 for “Sports telemetry system for collectingperformance metrics and data” by inventor Ramon A. Alonso, filed May 3,2010, describes systems and methods for collecting sports data. Thesystems and methods include measuring, at one or more sensor modulesmounted, affixed, or embedded on at least one sports participant, datacorresponding to identification, movement, position, or condition of theat least one sports participant; broadcasting, from one or moretelemetry modules mounted, affixed, or embedded on the at least onesports participant, signals carrying the data corresponding toidentification, movement, position, or condition of the at least onesports participant; measuring, at one or more sensor modules mounted,affixed, or embedded in a sports object, data corresponding toidentification, movement, position, or condition of the sports object;and broadcasting, from one or more telemetry modules mounted, affixed,or embedded on the sports object, signals carrying the datacorresponding to identification, movement, position, or condition of thesports object. The systems and methods also include receiving thesignals from the telemetry modules mounted, affixed, or embedded on theat least one sports participant and the telemetry modules mounted,affixed, or embedded on the sports object; and processing the receivedsignals to calculate position information or movement information of asports object or a sports participant in relation to a playing surfaceof a sports event.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,035,776 for “Wireless monitoring of safety helmets” byinventor Robert R. Miller, filed Jan. 20, 2011, describes a system andmethod for remote monitoring of a subject wearing a sports helmet. Inone aspect, the system includes a safety helmet and a sensor integratedwith the helmet for continuously gathering head acceleration force data,the head acceleration force data associated with the head movements of asubject. The system also includes a wireless transceiver coupled to thesensor for transmitting the head acceleration force data and a mobiledevice for receiving the head acceleration force data from the wirelesstransceiver. The system further includes a database engine fordisplaying the head acceleration force data to a user.

U.S. Publication No. 2012/0139731 for “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESSMONITORING OF SPORTS ACTIVITIES” by inventor Leonid Razoumov et al.,filed Dec. 1, 2010, describes a system and method for wirelessmonitoring of sports activities. A subject participating in a sportsactivity is associated with biometric sensors which measure thesubject's body movements. In one aspect, the system includes a sensorfor continuously gathering biometric data from a subject performing asports activity where the biometric data associated with the bodymovements of the subject. A wireless transceiver coupled to the sensortransmits the biometric data and a database engine receives thebiometric data from the wireless transceiver and providing real-timefeedback. The real-time feedback associated with the biometric data fromthe subject is characterized by instructions associated with the sportsactivity.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,552,031 for “Personal items network, and associatedmethods” by inventor Curtis A. Vock et al., filed Dec. 28, 2006,describes a personal items network, including several items, each itemhaving a wireless communications port for coupling in network with everyother item is provided. Each item has a processor for determining if anyother item in the network is no longer linked to the item, and anindicator for informing a user that an item has left the network,wherein a user may locate lost items. A method for locating lostpersonal items is also provided. The method includes linking at leasttwo personal items together on a network, and depositing one or both oftime and location information in an unlost item when one of the items islost out of network.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,627,451 for “Movement and event systems and associatedmethods” by inventor Curtis A. Vock et al., filed May 10, 2007,describes a smart sensor in the form of an adhesive bandage. The sensorsticks to people and objects and wirelessly communicates with remotereceivers. Internal detectors sense conditions associated with movementor the environment of the sensor. Typically, sensors of the inventioncommunicate by an RF transmitter or transceiver. Groups of sensors maybe combined within a common canister that imparts date and timeinformation and “power on” when dispensed.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,482,612 for “System and method for location tracking” byinventor Michael Tamir et al., filed Jul. 26, 2010, describes a systemfor embedment within a sport playing object, a ball for example. Thesystem is associated with continuous determination of a state of theobject, its location and pose. The system includes an inertialnavigation system (INS) module first state module adapted for measuringparameters associated with the object state, a wireless transmitter, abattery for providing electric power, and a mounting module connectingthe object with the first state module, the wireless transmitter and thebattery. Independent data relating to the object state is provided by asecond state module, a camera system for example. The object state iscalculated in accordance with the parameters measured by the first statemodule and in accordance with the independent provided data. The camerasystem capturing the object includes at least two mutually displacedcamera clusters, and each camera cluster includes one or more camerasfor providing a predetermined spatial resolution. The system may includea global positioning system (GPS) module which provides the independentdata relating to the object state.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,058,670 for “Trajectory detection and analysis insporting events” by inventor Michael Birenboim et al., filed May 2,2011, describes a method for conveying data on a flying object in ascene. The method including capturing video frames of the scene by videocameras to get video frames which include image of the object,identifying the object in captured video frames to get associated objectparameters, calculating motion variables, solving motion equations foranticipated object trajectory taking into account certain effects, andconveying data to displaying devices. The certain effects are an effectof object collision with a ground surface, air friction, wind effect,and interaction of a spinning object with air. The method may be appliedto a ball in a sporting playing field. The cameras may have variableoperating parameters desirable for the calculating the motion variables,which may be determined by camera calibration using captured artifactsof the scene. Shadow of the object may be captured as well and be usedto provide data absent due to occluding the object from a video camera.Also, the captured frames of a ball may be used to calculate parametersrelating to a bat which hits the ball.

U.S. Publication No. 2008/0192116 for “Real-Time Objects Tracking andMotion Capture in Sports Events” by inventor Michael Tamir et al., filedSep. 19, 2007, describes non-intrusive peripheral systems and methods totrack, identify various acting entities and capture the full motion ofthese entities in a sports event. The entities preferably includeplayers belonging to teams. The motion capture of more than one playeris implemented in real-time with image processing methods. Capturedplayer body organ or joints location data can be used to generate athree-dimensional display of the real sporting event using computergames graphics.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0131845 for “METHODS, SYSTEMS AND SOFTWAREPROGRAMS FOR ENHANCED SPORTS ANALYTICS AND APPLICATIONS” by inventorArian S. Forouhar et al., filed Nov. 4, 2014, describes a system forenhanced sports analytics and/or content creation. The system includes:an object tracking system that generates coordinate data correspondingto object motion in a sports event; a data processing module thatreceives the coordinate data from the object tracking system, analyzesthe coordinate data with an event recognition algorithm that identifiesand characterizes events and outcomes of interest, and catalogs the datain accordance with the identified events and outcomes into event profiledata; a database that receives and stores the event profile datagenerated by the data processing module; a user application thataccesses the event profile data from the database; and at least oneprocessing unit that executes instructions stored in at least onenon-transitory medium to implement at least one of the object trackingsystem, the data processing module, or the user application.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,044,198 for “Enhancement of the presentation of anathletic event” by inventor Edward C. Benzel et al., filed Jul. 15,2011, describes systems and methods for enhancing a presentation of anathletic event. Data is received at a sensor located at a first locationon a first athlete. The data represents an impact applied to the firstathlete by a second athlete. One of an acceleration and a force at asecond location on the first athlete induced by the impact isdetermined. A representation of the determined one of the accelerationand the force at the second location on the first athlete is displayedto an audience of the athletic event.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,076,041 for “Motion event recognition and videosynchronization system and method” by inventor Michael Bentley et al.,filed Apr. 21, 2014, describes a system and method enabling recognitionof events within motion data obtained from portable wireless motioncapture elements and video synchronization of the events with video asthe events occur or at a later time, based on location and/or time ofthe event or both. The system and method May use integrated camera orexternal cameras with respect to mobile device to automatically generategenerally smaller event videos of the event on the mobile device orserver. The system and method also enables analysis or comparison ofmovement associated with the same user, other user, historical user orgroup of users. The system and method provides low memory and powerutilization and greatly reduces storage for video data that correspondsto events such as a shot, move or swing of a player, a concussion of aplayer, or other medical related events or events, such as the firststeps of a child, or falling events.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,235,765 for “Video and motion event integration system”by inventor Michael Bentley et al., filed Nov. 20, 2014, describes asystem enabling intelligent synchronization and transfer of generallyconcise event videos synchronized with motion data from motion capturesensor(s) coupled with a user or piece of equipment. The system greatlysaves storage and increases upload speed by uploading event videos andavoiding upload of non-pertinent portions of large videos. The systemprovides intelligent selection of multiple videos from multiple camerascovering an event at a given time, for example selecting one with leastshake. Enables near real-time alteration of camera parameters during anevent determined by the motion capture sensor, and alteration ofplayback parameters and special effects for synchronized event videos.The system creates highlight reels filtered by metrics and can sort bymetric. The system integrates with multiple sensors to save event dataeven if other sensors do not detect the event. The system also enablesanalysis or comparison of movement associated with the same user, otheruser, historical user or group of users.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,247,212 for “Intelligent motion capture element” byinventor Bhaskar Bose et al., filed Jan. 17, 2013, describes anintelligent motion capture element that includes sensor personalitiesthat optimize the sensor for specific movements and/or pieces ofequipment and/or clothing and may be retrofitted onto existing equipmentor interchanged therebetween and automatically detected for example toswitch personalities. The intelligent motion capture element may be usedfor low power applications and accurate data capture for use inhealthcare compliance, sporting, gaming, military, virtual reality,industrial, retail loss tracking, security, baby and elderly monitoringand other applications for example obtained from a motion captureelement and relayed to a database via a mobile phone. System obtainsdata from motion capture elements, analyzes data and stores data indatabase for use in these applications and/or data mining; enablesunique displays associated with the user, such as 3D overlays ontoimages of the user to visually depict the captured motion data; andenables performance related equipment fitting and purchase. Includesactive and passive identifier capabilities.

U.S. Publication No. 2003/0182620 for “Synchronization of video anddata” by inventor James Errico et al., filed May 22, 2002, describes asystem including a video stream and a data stream. The systemsynchronizes the data stream to different portions of the video stream.

U.S. Publication No. 2009/0210395 for “Methods, systems, and computerreadable media for dynamically searching and presenting factually taggedmedia clips” by inventor Marc C. Sedam, filed Feb. 12, 2009, describesmethods, systems, and computer readable media for dynamically searchingand presenting factually tagged media clips. According to one aspect, amethod for providing dynamic user access to factually tagged mediaportions of a media presentation is provided. The method includesdividing a media presentation into media portions and factually taggingthe media portions. The factually tagged media portions are stored in adatabase and dynamic user access to the factually tagged media portionsis provided. The user dynamically accesses, via a fantasy sports gameinterface, the tagged media portions stored in the database by engagingin a dialogue with at least one server associated with the database andretrieving portions of the media presentation in response to userqueries.

U.S. Publication No. 2015/0208044 for “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSINGA VIDEO RECORDING WITH SENSOR DATA” by inventor Quinn A. Jacobson etal., filed Jan. 21, 2015, describes a method for processing a videorecording involving receiving sensor data from at least one sensorlocated on a person performing a physical activity. The sensor dataincludes biometric and/or biomechanical measurements taken from theperson while performing the activity. The video recording is of theperson performing the activity. The received video recording iscorrelated with the received sensor data to allow portions of the videorecording to be matched with portions of the sensor data fromcorresponding periods of time. Correlation allows one to readily findand review video footage that show the activity being performedcorrectly or not based on an interpretation of the sensor data.

It would be beneficial for the newly available information to beaccessible for various parties involved in a sports activity includingplayers, coaches, owners, general managers, trainers, medical staff,broadcasters, viewers, fans, and others. An integrated automated sportsdata collection and analytics will improve playing performance, teamstrategy, broadcasting, and the overall consumer experience.

None of the prior art describes a cloud-based platform for collectingvarious data related to players and sports activities and providingmeaningful statistics, analytics and intelligence.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for data input,collection, and analytics for sports games. Different types of data, forexample but not limited, location data, movement data, impact data andbiometric data for individual players are collected via wearable sensorsin real time during a sports game and transmitted to a cloud-basedplatform together with other sports data, including video, timing,scoring, statistics, and events with time code. The cloud-based platformis operable to aggregate, correlate, integrate, synchronize, and analyzevarious data related to the sports game; store, query and retrievevarious live data and historical data in and from a proprietarydatabase; and perform analytics and provide intelligence to differentparties involved in a sports game, including coaches, trainers, medicalstaff, live announcers, broadcasters, displays, viewers, and fans andetc. These different parties are provided authorized licensed orsubscription-based access via API to the cloud-based platform fortailored data feeds with real time push. In one embodiment, the presentinvention provides at least two data inputs are synchronized by timecode for an integrated data that is searchable, i.e., query by timecode, aggregate across data inputs by time code to synchronize withevents that are rules-based for each sport or game.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art after a reading of the following description ofthe preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings, as theysupport the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 an architecture diagram of an integral system for data collectionand analytics for sports activities according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram of level 2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a separate diagram of level 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a separate diagram of level 0 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the interactions between level 1 and level2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the interactions between level 0 and level1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a list of potential partners providing wearable clothinghaving biometric data capturing function.

FIG. 8 is a list of potential partners providing wearable bands havingbiometric data capturing function.

FIG. 9 is a list of potential partners providing wearable patches havingbiometric data capturing function.

FIG. 10 is a list of potential partners providing consumable productshaving biometric data capturing function.

FIG. 11 is a table comparing potential partners providing wearable andconsumable products having biometric capturing function.

FIG. 12 is a list of potential partners providing head impact sensingsystems.

FIG. 13 is a list of features of level 1 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14 is a list of events marked by a marking application programaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a list of features for a talent prompter at level 2 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a list of features for a research prompter at level 2according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is game report as a product of level 2 according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 18A and 18B is a list of features for telestration and sportsCharacter Generator (CG) for offense according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 19A and 19B is a list of features for telestration and sports CGfor defense according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a list of features for sports CG for participation accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate how to use telestration and sports CG foroffense in a broadcast according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 22 illustrates how to use telestration and sports CG for defense ina broadcast according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 illustrates how to use sports CG for participation in abroadcast according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a sample screenshot for a talent prompter screen.

FIGS. 25A and 25B is an offense summary template for game.

FIGS. 26A and 26B is an offense summary template for practice.

FIG. 27 is a defense summary template for game.

FIG. 28 is a defense summary template for practice.

FIGS. 29A and 29B is a play summary template for game.

FIG. 30 is a play summary template for practice.

FIG. 31 is a grouping summary template for game.

FIG. 32 is a grouping summary template for practice.

FIG. 33 is an activity summary template for game.

FIG. 34 is an activity summary template for practice.

FIGS. 35A and 35B and 35C is an example of play summary for game.

FIG. 36 is a list of potential partners at level 2 providing softwarefor coaching.

FIG. 37 is a list of potential partners at level 2 providing softwarefor training.

FIG. 38 is a medical safety alert received over a mobile phone showingplayer No. 24 is below hydration threshold.

FIGS. 39-41 are screenshots for one embodiment of an application programdisplaying hydration level below a threshold for player No. 24.

FIG. 42 is a screenshot for one embodiment of an application programdisplaying hydration level above a threshold for player No. 24.

FIG. 43 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 24.

FIG. 44 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off.

FIG. 45 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 24.

FIG. 46 is a screenshot displaying a medical alert showing player No. 16is above heart rate threshold.

FIGS. 47-49 are screenshots for one embodiment of an application programdisplaying heart rate level above a threshold for player No. 16.

FIG. 50 is a screenshot for one embodiment of an application programdisplaying heart rate level below a threshold for player No. 16.

FIG. 51 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 16.

FIG. 52 is a screenshot for displaying all alerts received.

FIG. 53 is a screenshot for searching for a player.

FIG. 54 is a medical safety alert received over a mobile phone showingplayer No. 16 has reached heart rate threshold.

FIG. 55 is a screenshot for another embodiment of an application programdisplaying heart rate level is above threshold for player No. 16.

FIG. 56 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player 16.

FIG. 57 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 16.

FIG. 58 is a screenshot for receiving a medical alert that player No. 1has reached heart rate threshold.

FIG. 59 is a screenshot displaying the medical alert for player No. 1.

FIG. 60 is a screenshot for receiving a medical alert that player No. 18has reached heart rate threshold.

FIG. 61 is a screenshot displaying the medical alert for player No. 18.

FIG. 62 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 18.

FIG. 63 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 18.

FIG. 64 is a screenshot displaying the heart rate for player No. 18 isbelow threshold.

FIG. 65 is a screenshot displaying player No. 1 has reached heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 66 is a screenshot displayer the heart rate of player No. 1 isbelow threshold.

FIG. 67 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 1.

FIG. 68 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 1.

FIG. 69 is a screenshot for one medical safety alert received over amobile phone showing player No. 59 has reached heart rate threshold.

FIG. 70 is a screenshot for two medical safety alerts received over amobile phone showing player No. 59 has reached heart rate threshold andplayer No. 2 has reached heart rate threshold.

FIG. 71 is a screenshot for three medical safety alerts received over amobile phone showing player No. 59 has reached heart rate threshold andplayer No. 2 has reached heart rate threshold and player No. 82 reachedheart rate threshold.

FIG. 72 is a screenshot displaying player No. 82 is below heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 73 is a screenshot displaying player No. 59 is above heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 74 is a screenshot displaying player No. 59 is above heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 75 is a screenshot displaying player No. 59 is above heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 76 is a screenshot displaying player No. 59 is below heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 77 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 59.

FIG. 78 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 59.

FIG. 79 is a screenshot displaying player No. 2 is above heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 80 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 2.

FIG. 81 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 2.

FIG. 82 is a screenshot displaying player No. 82 is below heart ratethreshold with alert on.

FIG. 83 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 82.

FIG. 84 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 82.

FIG. 85 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 82.

FIG. 86 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is on forplayer No. 82.

FIG. 87 is a screenshot displaying no medical alert received on themobile phone.

FIG. 88 is a screenshot displaying a reminder of a medical safety alertfor player No. 82.

FIG. 89 is a screenshot displaying the heart rate for player No. 82 isbelow threshold.

FIG. 90 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 82.

FIG. 91 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 82.

FIG. 92 is a screenshot for displaying all alerts received.

FIG. 93 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 16.

FIG. 94 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 16.

FIG. 95 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 18.

FIG. 96 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 18.

FIG. 97 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 18.

FIG. 98 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 1.

FIG. 99 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 1.

FIG. 100 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 1.

FIG. 101 is a screenshot for searching for a player.

FIG. 102 is a screenshot for typing and searching for a player.

FIG. 103 is a schematic diagram of a cloud-based system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 104 is a schematic diagram of a cloud-based system according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 105 is a high-level architecture of an integral system according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 106 is an architecture diagram of an integral system for datacollection and analytics for ice hockey according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 107 is an architecture diagram of an integral system for datacollection and analytics for fighting according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 108 illustrates an eight-layer object model generated by a MOSTserver and a MOST renderer according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 109 is an example of a visual analytics application according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 110 is an example of a visual analytics application according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 111 is an architecture of an arena domain server according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 112 is an architecture of a MOST data server according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 113 is an illustration of activity synchronization according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 114 is an illustration of mapping world objects and scene objectsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention proposes systems and method for sports datacollection, analytics, and applications thereof over a distributednetwork and a multiplicity of remote users having access to a data andanalytics platform. The proposed systems and methods are operable forintegrating disparate and asynchronous sports data collection systemsinto a cohesive set of time-synchronized data; making suchtime-synchronized set of data available for live query, live access, andlive push; facilitating the performance of multi-input analytics on thetime-synchronized set of data; and facilitating the presentation of thetime-synchronized set of data in a variety of real-time displays.Different types of data, for example but not limited to, location data,movement data, impact data and biometric data for individual players arecollected via wearable sensors in real time during a sports game,practice, event, activity or training session, and are transmitted to aserver-type platform together with other sports game, practice, event,activity or training session data, including video, timing, scoring,statistics, and events with time code. The server-type platform isoperable to aggregate, correlate, organize and synchronize various datarelated to the sports game, practice, event, activity or trainingsession; store, query and retrieve various live data and historical datain and from a proprietary database; provide a means for performinganalytics on the collective set of data; and provide intelligence anddisplays to different parties involved or interested in a sports game,practice, event, activity, or training session, including, but notlimited to, coaches, trainers, medical staff, live announcers,broadcasters, sports officials, displays, viewers, and fans and etc.These different parties may receive or subscribe to licensed access tothe server-type platform to receive tailored data feeds through avariety of mechanisms including but not limited to API access, queryaccess, and a real-time push mechanism.

FIG. 1 shows an architecture diagram illustrating an integral system fordata collection and analytics for sports activities according to thepresent invention. The sports activities in the present invention can besports events, sports games, practice, training sessions, and othersports related activities. There are three levels in the integralsystem. Level 0 (L0) is for data collection. Level 1 (L1) is acloud-based platform providing sports intelligence. Level 2 (L2) isintelligent data subscription by different parties for differentpurposes including but not limited to coaching, training, medicalsafety, live announcement, broadcasting, display, analytics, andcombinations thereof. At a high level summary, L0 generates data fromsensors and/or inputs; L1 collects data from L0 sources and analyzes thedata and stores the data; L2 accesses or receives data and/or analytics,and may also analyze. FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram of L2 in FIG. 1. FIG.3 is a separate diagram of L1 in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a separate diagram ofL0 in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is an illustration of the interactions between L1and L2 in FIG. 1. L1 provides L2 analytics data in real time push, andL2 has licensed access to L1 via Application Programming Interface(API). FIG. 6 is an illustration of the interactions between L0 and L1in FIG. 1. L0 transmits generated data from sensors and/or inputs to L1.

Tracking technologies and wearable technologies are developing fast andchanging paradigms of many traditional industries. As applied for sportspractices or competitions, or for games (e.g., virtual sports orgaming), each player's or participant's location, movements, and/orvital signs or other biometric data are sensed and tracked and thelocation data, movement data, and/or biometric data are collected andtransmitted in real time with a time code associated with each of themfor more intelligent and time-sensitive (real-time or near-real-time)analytics. The outputs and analytics from the data stored at the L1platform level are applied to improve individual player or participantperformance, team performance, broadcasts, viewer experience, predictiveanalytics of the sport or game, and combinations thereof.

Level 0: Data Capture, Generation, Inputs, and Collection from DataSources

At least one data source or sensor is provided for generating data,capturing data, receiving inputs, and/or collecting data; in every case,the data automatically receives a time code that is inextricably linkedwith the data, which is preferably real-time or near-real-time data. Ina preferred embodiment of the present invention, the data is associatedwith at least one athlete or player or participant for at least onesport or game (including but not limited to a virtual reality game orvideo game). At Level 0, at least one sensor is placed on differentareas of the player or participant body(ies) to measure movement,location, and/or biometric data for each player or participant.

Traditionally, optical tracking systems with cameras are deployed totrack objects in soccer and basketball games. Comparatively, morecomplicated sports, for example American football, there are amultiplicity of complex offensive and defensive sets as well as constantplayer substitution throughout a practice or competition. These higherlevels of activity, variables, and complexity in the sport or gamepractice and competition make it impossible for humans to simply useoptical tracking systems with cameras without more advanced trackingtechnology and automated analytics.

Furthermore, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for civilian usehas a maximum horizontal location accuracy of three meters, which is notaccurate enough to know where exactly a player is on the sports field,particularly if the goal is to assess proximity to another player, e.g.,in American football, a cornerback in man-to-man coverage. While someGPS systems can use additional technologies to refine accuracy further,it's not adequate standalone. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) isaccurate up to six inches. In a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention at L0, RFID technology is used for location tracking of amultiplicity of players in a sport or a game.

The present invention provides for use of RFID technology as well as GPSfor location tracking. In one illustrative embodiment for Americanfootball, every National Football League (NFL) stadium has about 20 RFIDreceivers, as part of a location tracking system designed by ZebraTechnologies, placed around the field for receiving data transmitted byRFID tags attached to players' uniforms.

In one exemplary embodiment, two small tags housing RFID chips areremovably attached to each of the multiplicity of players' uniforms towirelessly communicate location data; more particularly, each of theRFID chips is removably attached to and equipped into each of twoshoulder pads for each American football player. The small tags alsocontain an accelerometer for measuring speed. The sensor chips, aboutthe size of a quarter in diameter and about two quarters thick, run onsmall, watch-type batteries that provide a power supply for the tags foroperation for up to about one year. Also, while the tags are removablyattached, their robust design is preferably water-resistant andimpact-resistant to provide for inclement weather exposure, sweat, andwashability, and to incur hard hits without breaking or impairingoperation.

System receivers are pinged by the two RFID tracking sensors on eachplayer to identify the location, motion, and direction of every playerthroughout a game. Motion is tracked in sub-seconds and a player'slocation is identifiable within about six inches accuracy. The sensortags operate to blink up to 85 times per second and transmit motionwithin 120 milliseconds, thereby providing real-time or near-real-timedata.

The RFID tracking sensors are operable to provide data or information onplayer movements during the game, for example but not limited tolocation, speed, acceleration, deceleration, player orientation, brakingforce, change of direction, for every player at every play with extremeaccuracy. The RFID tracking sensors are operable to provide real-time(or near-real-time) statistics for every movement of every player onevery inch of the field in every NFL game or other sport or game.Further, these inputs and their corresponding data transmitted to the L1platform for analytics and database storage are operable to provide moreintelligence and insight into the sport or game than ever before in theprior art, including but not limited to player distance traveled,maximum and average speeds, and accelerations and decelerations.

These inputs, for example, movement data can be combined, integrated andcorrelated or otherwise associated with other data, by way of exampleand not limitation, activity trackers, sleep trackers, diet apps to logcaloric intake, and combinations thereof, to better monitor and evaluateplayers' physical performance continuously. Advantageously, the presentinvention uniquely provides for the analytics of any of the multiplicityof inputs and corresponding time code for synchronization.

In one embodiment, RFID tags also have Bluetooth transmitters or radios,which make the RFID tags expandable. The RFID tags enabled withBluetooth are operable to precisely connect other wearables and collectmore data with time code in real-time (or near-real-time) and transmitto the cloud-based platform of the present invention.

One example of commercially available RFID tracking technology (fromZebra) is provided in the following issued U.S. issued patents orpending application: U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,002,485, 9,014,830, 9,180,357,20150148129, 20150149837, 20150356332, and 20150375083, each of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Wearables includes any sensory wearables attached to different parts ofthe body, by way of example but not limitation, Fitbit heart ratemonitors, hydration patches, fluid or sweat sensors, optical sensors,etc. Wearables also include clothing and personal sports gears embeddedwith sensors, by way of example and not limitation, helmet with impactsensors, mouth guard with temperature sensor and hydration sensor,garments with various biometric sensors. Biometric data includes, by wayof example and not limitation, heart rates, lung capacities, core bodytemperatures, hydration, respiration, impact metrics, etc.

FIG. 7 is a list of potential partners providing wearable clothinghaving biometric data capturing function. FIG. 8 is a list of potentialpartners providing wearable bands having biometric data capturingfunction. FIG. 9 is a list of potential partners providing wearablepatches having biometric data capturing function. FIG. 10 is a list ofpotential partners providing consumable products having biometric datacapturing function. FIG. 11 is a table comparing potential partnersproviding wearable and consumable products having biometric capturingfunction.

FIG. 12 is a list of potential partners providing head impact sensingsystems.

External environmental data are also collected, by way of example butnot limitation, temperature, humidity, chemicals, and otherenvironmental factors and hazardous conditions.

All these sensory data at a granular level allow improved assessment ofplayer(s) and team performance, health or medical status, competitiveintelligence across teams, and combinations thereof, based on real-time(or near-real-time) quantitative data, which provides significantadvantages over the prior art.

In addition to the sensory data described hereinabove, cameras or videocapture devices are used to provide inputs. Video data is time-coded andtransmitted to the cloud-based platform at L1 for synchronization withany of the multiplicity of inputs from L0. Meanwhile, timing and scoringand statistics information related to the sports game is also collectedand time-coded and transmitted to the cloud-based platform at L1. Forexample, timing and scoring information includes but not limited to,timeouts, shot clock, power plays and inning. Statistics includesindividual statistics, for example but not limited to scores, attemptsand assists; statistics further includes team statistics, for examplebut not limited to total shooting, total assists and total penalties.Further, different events happening during the sports game are alsocollected as data input to the cloud-based platform at level 1. Forexample but not for limitation, different events include whistles,snaps, flags, warnings, etc.

This detailed description of the present invention includes insertingcontent into an image sequence and video event statistic tracking,including the following issued U.S. patents by common assigneeSportsMedia Technology: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,504,312, 7,116,342, and7,868,914, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entiretyherein.

The above-depicted sensors may transmit sensor signals via one or morewired or wireless communication protocols. For example, any proprietaryor standard wireless protocol Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) (e.g., IEEE802.15.4), near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (e.g., a802.11 protocol, etc.), ISO/IEC 18000, radio frequency systems (e.g.,900 MHz, 1.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHz communication systems), Zigbee, infrared,mobile broadband, GSM, GSM plus EDGE, CDMA, quadband, and other cellularprotocols, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), and/or any othersuitable protocol.

Communication protocols and data collection systems are selected basedon the location of the sport event, by way of example and notlimitation, indoor, outdoor, or stadium.

Level 1: Data Processing, Integration, Analytics, and Storage

In the present invention, the cloud-based platform at level 1 (L1)includes different rules engines to provide sports intelligence based onvarious data collected from level 0 (L0).

Many sensor devices of the prior art and available commercially for usein sports and/or games that may be used at L0 in the systems and methodsof the present invention are not operable to cross-communicate with eachother, and very often the data formats are different as well, and may beincompatible. This is one of the biggest challenges in any industry, andis a longstanding, unmet need in the field of athletics, sports, andgaming. Traditionally in the prior art, only similar data sets areaccepted that provide the same kind of information or data and operatewith the same language or communications protocol. If there aredifferent data sets, then the prior art requires data collation andsynchronization to be done manually. The cloud-based platform isoperable to automatically aggregate, correlate and synchronize multipleon-site data feeds with time code from different devices at L0 into aproprietary database. The cloud-based platform is vendor agnostic andsensor agnostic, which means it complements any sensor product from anyvendor for data collection. The cloud-based platform is operable toprovide customizable data integration product for a variety of clientevents.

The proprietary database is operable to store all the live andhistorical sensory data, video, stats, and events. In one embodiment,the cloud-based platform is operable for automatic comparison of variouslive data and historical data for a player, a team and/or a game. In oneembodiment, the cloud-based platform is operable to build player profileand game profile based on various live and historical data stored in theproprietary database. In one embodiment, the cloud-based platform isoperable to provide intelligent statistics for a player, a team, and agame based on various live and historical data stored in the proprietarydatabase. In one embodiment, the cloud-based platform is operable tointegrate with social media and extract social media feeds related to aplayer, a team or a game during a predetermined time period.

The cloud-based platform is operable to query and retrieve in and fromthe proprietary database for intelligent analytics. In one embodiment,the cloud-based platform is operable to provide advanced sportsanalytics and trends for relevant parties. For example but not forlimitation, the cloud-based platform is operable to provide answers tothe following questions: How far did that player actually run to gainfour yards? How fast? When, exactly, did he start running out of steam?In one embodiment, the cloud-based platform is operable to build apredictive model for prediction, by way of example and not limitation,what actions coaches, trainers, and/or medical staff are required basedon player profile and current statistics.

In one embodiment, the biometric data are transmitted from multiplesensors, the cloud-based platform is operable to synchronize thebiometric data with time code and perform analytics for theinter-relationship of the biometric data, not just analytics for theirindependent values.

The analytics performed by the cloud-based platform can provide insightsfor teams about players and future matchups, improve player performanceand team performance, prevent injuries, improve fan engagement and viewexperience. Thus, the cloud-based platform creates significant value tocoaches, players, trainers, medical staff, broadcasters, and fans.

With improved data and analytics provided by the present invention fromL1, coaches, trainers, and any authorized third party can access thedata from L1 to L2 via API to customize training sessions for eachplayer or groups of players having at least one common factor, such asposition on a team, essentially personalizing practice around thedifferent requirements for the different positions or roles on the team,for example in American football, nose tackles versus wide receivers.While athletic performance personnel associated with any team may have adifferent subjective answer for why a player's performance varies, theathletic performance personnel (e.g., coaches or trainers) can use theoutputs from L1 at L2 for developing and deploying tailored, customizedtraining plans for individual players and positions based on theirstrengths and weaknesses and the quantitative data associated with eachplayer from practices and/or competitions or games. In another exampleat L2, medical staff as well as coaches and trainers, can receive alertsfor each of the multiplicity of players, e.g., if a player isdehydrated, or if their heart rate is too elevated, or if the impact onthe player is above a threshold, etc.

The cloud-based platform in the present invention provides completeintegration of dynamic statistical data and graphical content createdspecifically for each client broadcast. Fans and viewers are able toexperience a new level of engagement like never before with thecombination of historical and live stats, real-time video,clock-and-score, social media posts and hashtag battles. By way ofillustrative example, fans and viewers will be able to see more complexinformation, such as how quickly and how far linemen were able to pushback a defensive player to make a hole for a running back, and evensocial media feeds which are popping up on the in-stadium display orapps.

FIG. 13 is a list of features of level 1 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The present invention is used in football, and L1includes a Football Intelligence Engine (FIE). The FIE storesinformation for each player, for example number of plays for a player ina game and in a season and biographical data for a player (height,weight, etc.); integrates data from L0, for example, live and season todate location data, position on the field at the start, during a playand at the end of a play; integrates manual event markers from markingapps; integrate linear timecode data; and integrates statistical data.

FIG. 14 is a list of events marked for a marking application program(“app”) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Themarking app marks time for start of play, end of play, time of hand offand/or quarterback release, start of run with ball, end of run withball, quarterback release of pass, start of route, end of route,reception, first contact and tackle. The marking app also marks players,for example targeted receiver on pass, ball carrier on run, and tackler.

Level 2: Data Application and Subscription for Access to Data

The analytics performed by the cloud-based platform can provideactionable data for different parties (for example, coaches, trainers,medical staff, live announcer, broadcast, in-stadium display, fans,viewers, etc.) involved in a sport or game.

In one embodiment, an application program (“app”) is provided for acertain party or specified or predetermined use with licensed access tosubscribe to receive relevant actionable data in real time push from thecloud-based platform and/or interact with the cloud-based platform viaApplication Programming Interface (API). Apps at level 2 (L2) areoperable to repackage the data from L1 and provide to different parties,including but not limited to coaches, trainers, medical staff, liveannouncers, broadcasters, displays, viewers, fans, and combinationsthereof. Each of the certain party apps are customized for the use andformat of the data for the specified or predetermined use (limiting usebased upon what type of data is used, what if any analytics are used,who is authorized, privacy, authentication, data format, etc.).

In another embodiment, the cloud-based platform also provides licensedaccess to the proprietary database. Third party analytics providers canobtain licensed access to the various data stored in the proprietarydatabase; these third party analytics providers may generatecomplementary analytics independently from the platform at L1.

For example, coaches have a coaching app on their tablets or smartphones or other computing devices. The coaching app is operable toreceive and/or request videos in real time from the cloud-basedplatform. The videos have inserted real-time data or statistical datacollected from L0. The coaching app is also operable to replay certainparts of the video with inserted real time data or statistical data. Thecoaching app provides data and/or analyzed data outputs withininteractive graphic user interface (GUI) formats that enable coaches tomake decisions based on current situation during a sports competitionand/or practice or training.

Also, for example, trainers have a training app operable on remotemobile devices or computing devices, e.g., on tablets, smart phones,computers, or other computer devices, with interactive real-time GUIs.The training app is operable to receive and/or request biometric dataand videos in real-time or near-real-time or at predetermined times orevents or triggers. The training app is also operable to requesthistorical biometric data statistics and player profiles. The trainingapp enables trainers to make personalized training plans for individualplayers and improve their performances in practice, as well as in thesport events or competitions, or virtual games.

Also, for example, medical staff have a medical safety app on theirtablets or smart phones or other computing devices, e.g., on tablets,smart phones, computers, or other computer devices, with interactivereal-time GUIs. The medical safety app is operable to receive movementdata and biometric data for individual players in real-time ornear-real-time from the cloud-based platform. The medical safety appprovides medical safety alerts to medical staff via interactive GUI, forexample, as illustrated in the figures, and the medical staff can takeactions or request players to take actions based on the alerts,triggers, or notifications, so that injury, overexertion, dehydration,fatigue and other unwanted conditions may be prevented or ameliorated.

For example, live announcers have a corresponding app on a mobilecomputing device e.g., on tablets, smart phones, computers, or othercomputer devices, with interactive real-time GUIs. The live announcer'sapp is operable to receive and/or request videos in real-time ornear-real-time. The videos have inserted real-time data or statisticaldata collected from level 0. The live announcer's app keeps liveannouncers updated with graphics and data in real time so that liveannouncers can make their announcements in a more accurate and timelymanner.

For example, broadcasters have a corresponding app operable on a mobilecomputing device, e.g., on tablets, smart phones, computers, or othercomputer devices, with interactive real-time GUIs. The broadcaster's appis operable to receive videos and location data in real-time ornear-real-time and/or replay certain parts of the videos with inserteddata. The broadcaster's app enables broadcasters to do telestration moretimely and effectively and make better broadcast.

For example, in-stadium display also has a specific application program,not just showing the videos in real time for the viewers but alsodisplaying rich inserted data at the same time, including but notlimited to events during a sports game, player profile, location andmovement data and biometric data and alerts for individual players. Thissolution provides for the on-site viewers' experience to be improvedsignificantly.

In one embodiment, the present invention is used in football.

FIG. 15 is a list of features for a talent prompter at level 2 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. The talent prompter in FIG.15 provides offense information, including personnel group informationand personnel group alert information. The personnel group informationincludes player number for each offense possession, number of plays ofgrouping during game, total yards gained with grouping, and averageyards gained with grouping. Similarly, the talent prompter in FIG. 15also provides defense information. The talent prompter in FIG. 15further provides main screen alerts including key matchups, which ispredetermined before start of game, first time on field for offense,mismatches for positions, sizes and/or speeds. FIG. 24 is a samplescreenshot for a talent prompter screen.

FIG. 16 is a list of features for a research prompter at level 2according to one embodiment of the present invention. The researchprompter in FIG. 16 provides for offense information and defenseinformation.

FIG. 17 is report as a product of level 2 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. Detailed report templates and examples areprovided in FIGS. 25A-35. FIGS. 25A and 25B is an offense summarytemplate for game. FIGS. 26A and 26B is an offense summary template forpractice. FIG. 27 is a defense summary template for game. FIG. 28 is adefense summary template for practice. FIGS. 29A and 29B is a playsummary template for game. FIG. 30 is a play summary template forpractice. FIG. 31 is a grouping summary template for game. FIG. 32 is agrouping summary template for practice. FIG. 33 is an activity summarytemplate for game. FIG. 34 is an activity summary template for practice.FIGS. 35A and 35B and 35C is an example of play summary for game.

FIGS. 18A and 18B is a list of features for telestration and sportsCharacter Generator (CG) for offense according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. The telestration and sports CG for offense includeinformation for running play, passing play and special team play. FIGS.21A and 21B illustrate how to use telestration and sports CG for offensein a broadcast according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 19A and 19B is a list of features for telestration and sports CGfor defense according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.22 illustrates how to use telestration and sports CG for defense in abroadcast according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a list of features for sports CG for participation accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 23 illustrates how touse sports CG for participation in a broadcast according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a list of potential partners at level 2 providing softwarefor coaching. For example, DVSport provides software that can be used infootball, hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. It also provides replaysystems for officials, medical staff and sideline. The football coachingsoftware provided by DVSport allows coaching staff to analyze video fromgames and practices. There is no time code. Also for example, XOSprovides software for football, hockey, basketball, and other sports. Italso provides recruiting and officiating solutions. The footballcoaching software provided by XOS allows coaching staff to analyze videofrom games and practices. There is no time code.

FIG. 37 is a list of potential partners at level 2 providing hardwareand analytical software for training. The training software is used bytrainers and strength coaches utilize the software to track performance,fitness and fatigue. The hardware is a wearable GPS device trackingmovement and come biometrics. The software analyzes activity andproduces reports on distance, speed, load, and etc. It is not in realtime, nor it works indoors.

FIGS. 38-102 illustrate an application program used by medical staff ofa sports team. The application program enables medical staff to receivemedical safety alerts regarding individual players.

FIG. 38 is a medical safety alert received over a mobile phone showing aplayer is below hydration threshold.

One embodiment of a medical safety app is shown in FIG. 39. Thehydration level is illustrated along a curve from 0% on the left end to100% on the right end. The threshold is 50% in the middle. The currenthydration level for player No. 24 is 48%. If the alert is in red. Thehydration level is below threshold at 32 s. Similarly, FIGS. 40 and 41are showing different hydration levels which are also below threshold.FIG. 42 shows that at 24 minutes 51 seconds, the hydration level forplayer No. 24 is 59%, which is above threshold.

Player vitals include heart rate, head impact metric, hydration, andcore body temperature. FIG. 43 is a screenshot for displaying playersummary for player No. 24. His heart rate is 184 Beats per Minute (BPM).The head impact metric is Risk Weighted Cumulative Exposure (RWE). HisRWE is 0.521. His hydration level is 60%. His core body temperature is98.8° F. A diagrammatic view of the hydration level during a time periodis also shown in a curve displayed at the lower section of the GUIdisplay when the hydration level is selected, and the real-time data isautomatically updated and pushed to the remote mobile device viawireless communication network for automatic updated display on the GUI,and the daily average hydration level is also indicated, shown at 63%.

FIG. 44 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for one embodiment of the application program. FIG. 45is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off.

FIG. 46 is a screenshot displaying a medical alert showing player No. 16is above heart rate threshold for one embodiment of an applicationprogram. There is an option for dismiss, and an option for details. FIG.47 shows the details of the heart rate alert. The heart rate isillustrated along a curve from 0 BPM on the left end to 300 BPM on theright end. The threshold is 190 BPM. The heart rate for Player No. 16 is213 BPM, which is above the threshold. The player name is in red. Theheart rate data shown is indicated above threshold at 7 s. Similarly,FIGS. 48 and 49 are showing different heart rates which are also abovethreshold. FIG. 50 shows that at 4 minutes 1 second, the heart rate forplayer No. 16 is 183 BPM, which is below threshold. At this time, theplayer name is in black.

FIG. 51 is a screenshot for displaying player summary for player No. 16,his heart rate is 186 Beats per Minute (BPM). His RWE is 0.465. Hishydration level is 61%. His core body temperature is 100.3° F. Adiagrammatic view of the heart rate level during a time period is alsoshown in a curve displayed at the lower section of the GUI display whenthe heart rate is selected, and the real-time data is automaticallyupdated and pushed to the remote mobile device via wirelesscommunication network for automatic updated display on the GUI, and thedaily average heart rate is also indicated, shown at 181 BPM.

FIG. 52 is a screenshot for displaying all alerts received.

FIG. 53 is a screenshot for searching for a player.

FIG. 54 is a medical safety alert received over a mobile phone showingplayer No. 16 has reached heart rate threshold.

Another embodiment of a medical safety app is shown in FIG. 55. FIG. 55is a screenshot displaying heart rate level is above threshold for aplayer. The heart rate is illustrated on a vertical axis, where therelative value to the threshold is shown on the left and the absoluteheart rate value is shown the right. The time period is shown on the farright side. For player No. 16, the threshold value is 209 BPM. His heartrate is 207 BPM at the last 1 s, which is below threshold 209 BPM.

FIG. 56 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player 16. FIG. 57 is a screenshot displaying amedical safety alert is off for player No. 16.

FIG. 58 is a screenshot for receiving a medical alert that player No. 1has reached heart rate threshold. FIG. 59 is a screenshot displaying themedical alert for player No. 1. At the last 1 s, his heart rate is 189BPM, which is below threshold 209 BPM.

FIG. 60 is a screenshot for receiving a medical alert that player No. 18has reached heart rate threshold. FIG. 61 is a screenshot displaying themedical alert for player No. 18. FIG. 62 is a screenshot displayingoptions of leaving alert one and turning alert off for player No. 18.FIG. 63 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 18. FIG. 64 is a screenshot displaying the heart rate forplayer No. 18 is 196 BPM, which is below threshold 204 BPM at the last 1s.

FIG. 65 is a screenshot displaying player No. 1 has reached heart ratethreshold. FIG. 66 is a screenshot displayer the heart rate of playerNo. 1 is 198 BPM, which is below threshold 209 BPM, at the last 1 s.FIG. 67 is a screenshot displaying options of leaving alert one andturning alert off for player No. 1. FIG. 68 is a screenshot displaying amedical safety alert is off for player No. 1.

FIG. 69 is a screenshot for one medical safety alert received over amobile phone showing player No. 59 has reached heart rate threshold.FIG. 70 is a screenshot for two medical safety alerts received over amobile phone showing player No. 59 has reached heart rate threshold andplayer No. 2 has reached heart rate threshold. FIG. 71 is a screenshotfor three medical safety alerts received over a mobile phone showingplayer No. 59 has reached heart rate threshold and player No. 2 hasreached heart rate threshold and player No. 82 reached heart ratethreshold.

FIG. 72 is a screenshot displaying player No. 82 is below heart ratethreshold.

FIGS. 73-75 are screenshots displaying player No. 59 is above heart ratethreshold. FIG. 76 is a screenshot displaying player No. 59 is belowheart rate threshold at the last 2 s. FIG. 77 shows options for leavingalert on and turning alert off. FIG. 78 shows the alert is turn off forplayer No. 59.

Similarly, FIG. 79 is a screenshot displaying the heart rate alert abovethreshold for player No. 2. FIG. 80 shows options for leaving alert onand turning alert off. FIG. 81 shows the alert is turn off for playerNo. 2.

FIG. 82 is a screenshot displaying the heart rate alert below thresholdfor player No. 82 with alert on. FIG. 83 shows options for leaving alerton and turning alert off. FIG. 84 shows the alert is turn off for playerNo. 82. FIG. 85 shows the alert can be turned back on for player No. 82.FIG. 86 shows the alert for player No. 82 is turned back on. Note thatthe alerts are listed in an order that the earliest alert in at thebottom and the latest alert in on top. Expanding one alert for view doesnot change the order.

FIG. 87 is a screenshot displaying no medical alert received on themobile phone. FIG. 88 is a screenshot for displaying a reminder of amedical safety alert for player No. 82 over a mobile phone.

FIG. 89 is a screenshot displaying the heart rate for player No. 82 isbelow threshold with alert on. FIG. 90 is a screenshot displayingoptions of leaving alert one and turning alert off for player No. 82.FIG. 91 is a screenshot displaying a medical safety alert is off forplayer No. 82.

FIG. 92 is a screenshot for displaying all alerts received.

Similar to FIGS. 43 and 51, FIGS. 93-94 are screenshots for displayingplayer summary for player No. 16. FIGS. 95-97 are screenshots fordisplaying player summary for player No. 18. FIGS. 98-100 arescreenshots for displaying player summary for player No. 1.

Similar to FIG. 53, FIG. 101 is a screenshot for searching for a playerin a list of players. FIG. 102 is a screenshot for typing a player namefor searching.

Referring now to FIG. 103, a schematic diagram illustrating avirtualized computing network used in of one embodiment of the inventionfor automated systems and methods is shown. As illustrated, componentsof the systems and methods include the following components andsub-components, all constructed and configured for network-basedcommunication, and further including data processing and storage. Asillustrated in FIG. 103, a basic schematic of some of the key componentsof a financial settlement system according to the present invention areshown. The system 200 comprises a server 210 with a processing unit 211.The server 210 is constructed, configured and coupled to enablecommunication over a network 250. The server provides for userinterconnection with the server over the network using a personalcomputer (PC) 240 positioned remotely from the server, the personalcomputer having instructions 247. Furthermore, the system is operablefor a multiplicity of remote personal computers or terminals 260, 270,having operating systems 269, 279. For example, a client/serverarchitecture is shown. Alternatively, a user may interconnect throughthe network 250 using a user device such as a personal digital assistant(PDA), mobile communication device, such as by way of example and notlimitation, a mobile phone, a cell phone, smart phone, laptop computer,netbook, a terminal, or any other computing device suitable for networkconnection. Also, alternative architectures may be used instead of theclient/server architecture. For example, a PC network, or other suitablearchitecture may be used. The network 250 may be the Internet, anintranet, or any other network suitable for searching, obtaining, and/orusing information and/or communications. The system of the presentinvention further includes an operating system 212 installed and runningon the server 210, enabling server 210 to communicate through network250 with the remote, distributed user devices. The operating system maybe any operating system known in the art that is suitable for networkcommunication as described hereinbelow. Data storage 220 may house anoperating system 222, memory 224, and programs 226.

Additionally or alternatively to FIG. 103, FIG. 104 is a schematicdiagram of an embodiment of the invention illustrating a computersystem, generally described as 800, having a network 810 and a pluralityof computing devices 820, 830, 840. In one embodiment of the invention,the computer system 800 includes a cloud-based network 810 fordistributed communication via the network wireless communication antenna812 and processing by a plurality of mobile communication computingdevices 830. In another embodiment of the invention, the computer system800 is a virtualized computing system capable of executing any or allaspects of software and/or application components presented herein onthe computing devices 820, 830, 840. In certain aspects, the computersystem 800 may be implemented using hardware or a combination ofsoftware and hardware, either in a dedicated computing device, orintegrated into another entity, or distributed across multiple entitiesor computing devices.

By way of example, and not limitation, the computing devices 820, 830,840 are intended to represent various forms of digital computers 820,840, 850 and mobile devices 830, such as a server, blade server,mainframe, mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a desktop computer, a netbook computer, a tablet computer, aworkstation, a laptop, and other similar computing devices. Thecomponents shown here, their connections and relationships, and theirfunctions, are meant to be exemplary only, and are not meant to limitimplementations of the invention described and/or claimed in thisdocument.

In one embodiment, the computing device 820 includes components such asa processor 860, a system memory 862 having a random access memory (RAM)864 and a read-only memory (ROM) 866, and a system bus 868 that couplesthe memory 862 to the processor 860. In another embodiment, thecomputing device 830 may additionally include components such as astorage device 890 for storing the operating system 892 and one or moreapplication programs 894, a network interface unit 896, and/or aninput/output controller 898. Each of the components may be coupled toeach other through at least one bus 868. The input/output controller 898may receive and process input from, or provide output to, a number ofother devices 899, including, but not limited to, alphanumeric inputdevices, mice, electronic styluses, display units, touch screens, signalgeneration devices (e.g., speakers) or printers.

By way of example, and not limitation, the processor 860 may be ageneral-purpose microprocessor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)),a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microcontroller, a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD),a controller, a state machine, gated or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any other suitable entity or combinationsthereof that can perform calculations, process instructions forexecution, and/or other manipulations of information.

In another implementation, shown in FIG. 104, a computing device 840 mayuse multiple processors 860 and/or multiple buses 868, as appropriate,along with multiple memories 862 of multiple types (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core).

Also, multiple computing devices may be connected, with each deviceproviding portions of the necessary operations (e.g., a server bank, agroup of blade servers, or a multi-processor system). Alternatively,some steps or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific toa given function.

According to various embodiments, the computer system 800 may operate ina networked environment using logical connections to local and/or remotecomputing devices 820, 830, 840, 850 through a network 810. A computingdevice 830 may connect to a network 810 through a network interface unit896 connected to the bus 868. Computing devices may communicatecommunication media through wired networks, direct-wired connections orwirelessly such as acoustic, RF or infrared through a wirelesscommunication antenna 897 in communication with the network wirelesscommunication antenna 812 and the network interface unit 896, which mayinclude digital signal processing circuitry when necessary. The networkinterface unit 896 may provide for communications under various modes orprotocols.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the instructions may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combinations thereof. A computerreadable medium may provide volatile or non-volatile storage for one ormore sets of instructions, such as operating systems, data structures,program modules, applications or other data embodying any one or more ofthe methodologies or functions described herein. The computer readablemedium may include the memory 862, the processor 860, and/or the storagemedia 890 and may be a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed computer system) that store the one or moresets of instructions 900. Non-transitory computer readable mediaincludes all computer readable media, with the sole exception being atransitory, propagating signal per se. The instructions 900 may furtherbe transmitted or received over the network 810 via the networkinterface unit 896 as communication media, which may include a modulateddata signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism andincludes any delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics changed or set in amanner as to encode information in the signal.

Storage devices 890 and memory 862 include, but are not limited to,volatile and non-volatile media such as cache, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,FLASH memory or other solid state memory technology, discs (e.g.,digital versatile disc (DVD), HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, compact disc (CD),CD-ROM, floppy disc) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium that can be used to store the computer readableinstructions and which can be accessed by the computer system 800.

It is also contemplated that the computer system 800 may not include allof the components shown in FIG. 104, may include other components thatare not explicitly shown in FIG. 104, or may utilize an architecturecompletely different than that shown in FIG. 104. The variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, elements, circuits, and algorithmsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application(e.g., arranged in a different order or partitioned in a different way),but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides a standard file formatfor recording and processing sports data during a sports activity alonga timeline. The standard file format is compatible for multiple sports,much smaller than a video format, and annotatable. In one embodiment,the file format is named as .MOST (Multi-Object Synchronized Timeline).In one embodiment, the present invention provides a MOST data server forsynchronizing and processing various input data and generating processeddata in .MOST format. In one embodiment, the .MOST data and the .MOSTfile include 3D data.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides systems, methods, andapparatus for data collection and analytics for a sports activity. Aserver platform is constructed and configured for network communicationwith a multiplicity of sensors and a multiplicity of user devices. Theserver platform comprises at least one intelligence engine and at leastone synchronization engine. Each of the multiplicity of user devicesincludes at least one application program. The multiplicity of sensorstracks a multiplicity of world objects related to the sports activity,collects and communicates data inputs to the server platform in realtime or near real time, thereby creating tracking data. The serverplatform collects and integrates the tracking data from the multiplicityof sensors and scoring data for the sports activity. The server platformautomatically correlates the tracking data and the scoring data with acorresponding Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) timecode based on rulesrelated to the sports activity, thereby creating a multiplicity ofUTC-coded data sets. The server platform synchronizes the multiplicityof UTC-coded data sets, thereby creating a time-synchronized data set.The server platform provides analytics based on the time-synchronizeddata set, thereby creating analyzed data. The multiplicity of userdevices displays the analyzed data based on the at least one applicationprogram.

In one embodiment, level 1 of the integral system of the presentinvention includes an intelligence engine DMX for a specific sport tocollect and aggregate tracking stats and scoring events, and providebasic analytics and advanced analytics. In one embodiment, level 1 ofthe integral system of the present invention also includes asynchronization engine. In one embodiment, the synchronization engine isa MOST data server operable to normalize and synchronize all datacollected from level 0 into .MOST format. The MOST data sever alsoprovides data archiving, post data playback, live data push, video-datasynchronization, sport specific triggers, and event context mapping.Level 1 of the integral system also provides a MOST API to provide MOSTdata to various applications for various sports at level 2. FIG. 105 isa high-level architecture of an integral system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

In one embodiment, level 1 of the integral system of the presentinvention includes a timecode synchronization layer operable to automateand facilitate collection of all official stats data and all trackingdata on field from level 0 and timestamp all the collected data with aworld UTC timecode for a certain sport. In one embodiment, all thecollected data with UTC timecode is synchronized to a productiontimecode for broadcasting purposes. The timecode synchronization layerat level 1 provides full integration of input data from level 0.

In one embodiment, there is at least one arena domain server and atleast one arena MOST server at level 1. Each arena domain serverincludes an intelligence engine providing intelligent analytics based onofficial scoring events and activity events. Each arena MOST serverincludes a MOST engine for normalizing all the collected data from level0. The MOST engine is connected to an analytics API for domain queriesin the arena domain server. In one embodiment, the arena domain serverstores all the scoring data and tracking data for a predetermined periodof time (e.g., a few seconds) that is long enough for official scoringpurposes, but the arena MOST server stores all data in .MOST formatpermanently. In one embodiment, the at least one arena domain server andthe at least one arena MOST server are connected to a cloud-based serverplatform. The cloud-based server platform is also operable forprocessing domain data and MOST data the same as the at least one arenadomain server and the at least one arena MOST server is respectively.

In one embodiment, there is an Application Programming Interface (API)and Real-Time Push (RTP) layer at level 1 connecting to variousapplications at level 2 including third-party data feeds, displaying,broadcasting, and web applications. Applications at level 2 are operableto connect to the cloud-based server platform and/or the local arenaservers via the API and RTP layer for data retrieval.

FIG. 106 is an architecture diagram of an integral system for datacollection and analytics for ice hockey according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 107 is an architecture diagram of anintegral system for data collection and analytics for fighting accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. The intelligence engine issport specific. The MOST engine applies to all sports so that theintegral system can be used in all sports with minimal adaptations.

FIG. 108 illustrates an eight-layer object model generated by a MOSTserver and a MOST renderer according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 109 is an example of a visual analytics applicationaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 110 is anexample of a visual analytics application according to anotherembodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 109 and 110, an arena MOSTdata server at level 1 generates Data Guide object data, Worlds objectdata, and Activity object data in .MOST format based on trackingactivity events and scoring activity events at level 0, and sends allthe object data to a MOST renderer at level 2 via a MOST data API & RTP.In one embodiment, the MOST renderer queries the arena MOST data serverto obtain all the object data generated by the arena data server. TheMOST renderer is operable to render a 3D scene based on data from thearena MOST data server, and the MOST renderer is further operable forvideo selection and playback control. The MOST renderer control APIprovides Solutions object data, Control object data, Design POP objectdata, Design POP 3D object data, and Scenes object data to variousapplications at level 2.

In one embodiment, broadcasting equipment sends video data withtimecodes to the MOST renderer, and the MOST renderer is operable tocontrol the broadcasting equipment. The broadcasting equipment includesmultiple broadcasting devices in one embodiment. In another embodiment,as illustrated in FIG. 110, an arena MOST video server is provided atlevel 1 to standardize and process video data from multiple broadcastingequipment and send the processed video data to the MOST renderer. TheMOST renderer of level 2 is operable to control the arena MOST videoserver for video processing.

FIG. 111 is an architecture of an arena domain server according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the arena domainserver communicates with a MOST tracking activity generator and ascoring activity generator, ingests tracking data and scoring data, andupdates object models including but not limited to a Game object model,a Player object model, and a Player Stats object model. The arena domainserver provides raw tracking data, aggregate stats data, track statsdata, performs basic analytics and advanced analytics. A domain activityviewer is provided to access to the arena domain server via a sport API.

FIG. 112 is an architecture of a MOST data server according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the MOST dataserver is operable to communicate with a MOST tracking activitygenerator and a MOST scoring activity generator, ingest tracking dataand scoring data, and update object models including but not limited toa Data Guide object model, Worlds object model, and Activity objectmodel. The MOST data server provides data archiving, post data playback,live data push, video-data synchronization, sport specificevents/triggers, and event context mapping. A MOST activity viewer isoperable to access to the MOST data server via a MOST API.

FIG. 113 is an illustration of activity synchronization according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Each world activity is timestampedwith a world UTC timecode. World activities include world objectactivities, world camera activities, and competition events. Worldobjects include venues, sports elements, and players. Sports elementsinclude any sports equipment such as balls (e.g., football, basketball,tennis ball, soccer ball, golf ball, etc.), pucks, etc., wearablesporting equipment such as protective equipment (e.eg.: helmet, shinguards, padding, etc.) and uniforms, and handheld equipment (e.g.,racquet, lacrosse stick, baseball bat, golf club, hockey stick, etc.)Alternatively, the world objects of players include wearable sportingequipment. World camera activities include XYZ location changes,Pan-Tilt-Zoom-Focus (PTZF) value changes, etc. Each world objectactivity and each world camera activity are timestamped so that eachworld object and each world camera have their own individual activitytimelines. In one embodiment, the world UTC is synchronized to a TVtimecode for broadcast purposes. In one embodiment, multiple world UTCsare synchronized between each other. In one embodiment, multiple worldUTCs are also synchronized to multiple TV timecodes.

FIG. 114 is an illustration of mapping world objects and scene objectsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. The worldrepresents the actual 3D physical world environment including objectsand cameras placed within that environment. The scene is a 3D graphicsscene representing a particular visualization of the world. Cameras arealso included in the scene in order to change viewpoint. In oneembodiment, a scene object is set to automatically track the location ofa corresponding world object, and a scene camera is set to automaticallytrack the location and view of a world camera.

The foregoing mentioned “cloud-based platform” refers to any software asa service or to services over at least one server or more than oneserver interfacing through the internet. In alternative embodiments, L1in the present invention can be one or more local and physical servers,which will be appreciated by those with ordinary skill in the art.

The present invention, as a whole, is implemented through anunconventional and non-generic combination of physical elementsproviding sports data collection, advanced analytics and application ina time-sensitive and device-agnostic manner with real time networkcommunication. The platform of the present invention providesimprovement to sports data collection and aggregation and digestion,therefore, more valuable data are fed to coaches, trainers, medicalstaff, live announcers, broadcasters, displays, viewers, fans, and anyother party relevant to a sports game, practice, event, activity ortraining. The present invention is inextricably tied to computertechnology and communication.

Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled inthe art upon a reading of the foregoing description. The above-mentionedexamples are provided to serve the purpose of clarifying the aspects ofthe invention and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthey do not serve to limit the scope of the invention. All modificationsand improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of concisenessand readability but are properly within the scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for data collection and analytics for asports activity, comprising: a server platform constructed andconfigured for network communication with a multiplicity of sensors anda multiplicity of user devices, wherein the server platform comprises atleast one intelligence engine and at least one synchronization engine,wherein each of the multiplicity of user devices includes at least oneapplication program; wherein the multiplicity of sensors is operable totrack a multiplicity of world objects related to the sports activity andcollect and communicate data inputs to the server platform in real timeor near real time, thereby creating tracking data; wherein the serverplatform is operable to collect and integrate the tracking data from themultiplicity of sensors and scoring data for the sports activity;wherein the server platform is operable to automatically correlate thetracking data and the scoring data with a corresponding CoordinatedUniversal Time (UTC) timecode based on rules related to the sportsactivity, thereby creating a multiplicity of UTC-coded data sets;wherein the server platform is operable to synchronize the multiplicityof UTC-coded data sets, thereby creating a time-synchronized data set;wherein the server platform is operable to provide analytics based onthe time-synchronized data set, thereby creating analyzed data; whereinthe multiplicity of user devices is operable to display the analyzeddata based on the at least one application program.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the server platform includes at least one local serverand/or at least one cloud-based server.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the server platform is further operable to synchronize themultiplicity of UTC-coded data sets to at least one production timecodefor broadcasting.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the server platformis further operable to store the time-synchronized data sets and theanalyzed data for the sports activity.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereinthe server platform is further operable to render a 3-dimensional (3D)graphics scene for the sports activity.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the server platform is further operable to map the multiplicityof world objects to a multiplicity of scene objects in the 3D graphicsscene and map world activities to scene activities in the 3D graphicsscene, wherein the world activities comprise world object activities,world camera activities, and competition events in the sports activity.7. The system of claim 1, wherein the server platform is furtheroperable to provide a third-party analytics provider with licensedaccess to the time-synchronized data set, and wherein the third-partyanalytics provider is operable to generate complementary analyticsindependently from the server platform.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one application program is a medical safetyapplication program, a coaching application program, a trainingapplication program, a broadcaster's application program, an announcer'sapplication program, a display application program, or a talentprompter.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the multiplicity of worldobjects comprises a venue for the sports activity.
 10. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the multiplicity of world objects comprises at leastone sports element in the sports activity.
 11. The system of claim 1,wherein the multiplicity of world objects comprises at least one playerin the sports activity.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the trackingdata comprises location data, movement data, biometric data, and videodata.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the scoring data comprisesindividual and team score data, individual statistics data, and teamstatistics data.
 14. A method for data collection and analytics for asports activity, comprising: providing a server platform constructed andconfigured for network communication with a multiplicity of sensors anda multiplicity of user devices, wherein the server platform comprises atleast one intelligence engine and at least one synchronization engine,wherein each of the multiplicity of user devices includes at least oneapplication program; the multiplicity of sensors tracking a multiplicityof world objects related to the sports activity; the multiplicity ofsensors collecting and communicating data inputs to the server platformin real time or near real time, thereby creating tracking data; theserver platform collecting and integrating the tracking data from themultiplicity of sensors and scoring data for the sports activity; theserver platform automatically correlating the tracking data and thescoring data with a corresponding Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)timecode based on rules related to the sports activity, thereby creatinga multiplicity of UTC-coded data sets; the server platform synchronizingthe multiplicity of UTC-coded data sets, thereby creating atime-synchronized data set; the server platform providing analyticsbased on the time-synchronized data set, thereby creating analyzed data;and the multiplicity of user devices displaying the analyzed data basedon the at least one application program.
 15. The method of claim 14,further comprising the server platform synchronizing the multiplicity ofUTC-coded data sets to at least one production timecode forbroadcasting.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising the serverplatform rendering a 3-dimensional (3D) graphics scene for the sportsactivity.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the serverplatform mapping the multiplicity of world objects to a multiplicity ofscene objects in the 3D graphics scene and mapping world activities toscene activities in the 3D graphics scene, wherein the world activitiescomprise world object activities, world camera activities, andcompetition events in the sports activity.
 18. An apparatus for datacollection and analytics for a sports activity, comprising: a serverplatform comprising at least one intelligence engine and at least onesynchronization engine; wherein the server platform is constructed andconfigured for network communication with a multiplicity of sensors anda multiplicity of user devices, wherein each of the multiplicity of userdevices includes at least one application program; wherein themultiplicity of sensors is operable to track a multiplicity of worldobjects related to the sports activity and collect and communicate datainputs to the server platform in real time or near real time, therebycreating tracking data; wherein the at least one intelligence engine isoperable to collect and integrate the tracking data from themultiplicity of sensors and scoring data for the sports activity;wherein the at least one intelligence engine is operable toautomatically correlate the tracking data and the scoring data with acorresponding Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) timecode based on rulesrelated to the sports activity, thereby creating a multiplicity ofUTC-coded data sets; wherein the at least one synchronization engine isoperable to synchronize the multiplicity of UTC-coded data sets, therebycreating a time-synchronized data set; wherein the at least onesynchronization engine is operable to provide analytics based on thetime-synchronized data set, thereby creating analyzed data; and whereinthe multiplicity of user devices is operable to display the analyzeddata based on the at least one application program.
 19. The apparatus ofclaim 18, wherein the at least one synchronization engine is operable tosynchronize the multiplicity of UTC-coded data sets to at least oneproduction timecode for broadcasting.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18,wherein server platform further comprises a 3-dimensional (3D) scenerenderer operable to create a 3D graphics scene for the sports activity.